Reminiscing on Bridge's Early Days

Fifteen years ago, history was made!

As seen in our newsletters this year, the commitment of BBCS staff has always been paramount to our success. We would not be where we are today without passionate leaders and teachers who always go the extra mile -- especially in the early days.

This month, we sat down with some of our educators who have been here since the beginning, and asked them to reflect back on what has changed.

What's something surprising about Bridge's first years?

"Going to the zoo! When we were at McLellan, we were across the street from the zoo. When things were getting a little boring or stale in the classroom, we could say, 'Hey guys, math is canceled, we're heading to the zoo!'" - Sophie Schacht, current Special Education Lead Teacher

What’s something you did that first year that would never appear in a job description?

"Setting up St. Marks was quite the adventure. Clearing out the trash, mopping floors, moving an entire buildings worth of furniture and materials in over the course of a day. We ordered pizzas and stayed til 10pm helping those teachers set up their classrooms and common areas. I remember myself and two other teachers finding a pile of at least 60 desks at the bottom of a ramp, and creating a human chain to get them up two or three floors by putting them on our backs and hauling them. Definitely not something you'd expect to find in a job description." - Mr. Di Sorbo, current K1 teacher

"The night before the first day of school, Jen [Daly] realized that our new students who were riding the bus would be really nervous. So, she sent all the Fellows to the bus stops so we could greet the students and families loading the bus and ride with them on day 1. So, with very little warning, the Fellows house woke up at 5am and dispersed across the city to greet students at the bus stops and ride alongside them on their first day of school. This was an unexpected and exhausting ask but, many years later, when a then-K1 student graduated, her Mom came up to me with tears in her eyes and said "I'll never forget when you showed up at the bus stop to ride with my girl. Then you were her first grade teacher, and now she's graduated. Bridge Boston has supported us from the very first day." - Ms. J, current interim principal

What’s a moment that captures just how scrappy those early days were?

"As many people know, because the church was rebuilding their sanctuary after a fire, they needed to use their community space (the space we were renting) for their soup kitchen every Wednesday and their services every Sunday- so, we bought movable walls, and literally broke down our K2 classrooms every Wednesday afternoon at 6:00 after the kids left, and put it all back before kids arrived at 7:00 Thursday morning. We then did all of that again every Friday night, and Monday morning. There was one week when the church hosted an art show, so we needed to move our walls and furniture every night that week." - Ms. Moore, current Dean of Coaching & Intervention

What's the biggest difference between now and "back then"?

"Assemblies! We used to have assemblies twice a week. The whole school would come together to sing, learn, and appreciate each other. Each week, a teacher was in charge of leading the assembly, which meant coming up with a random topic to teach or entertain the kids with. It was an extra lift, but I learned so much from those assemblies- Janelle taught us about school in Thailand, Julie showed us what it was like growing up skiing, and Di had her whole class doing the Cha Cha Slide. Lizzie Brophy and I played a trumpet/piano duet for the kids! I don't miss having to plan an assembly every few weeks, but I do miss the whole school singing together twice a week. We would sing "Inch by Inch" and our very own Bridge assembly song every week!" - Sophie Schacht, current Special Education Lead Teacher

"When we were in the church, we also had limited space, so we walked or took the bus 2x each week to Curtis Hall for swimming lessons. Our 4-5 year olds got changed into their swim gear twice a week, and back into their clothes- hopefully without losing anything!- and teachers participated as well. It was A LOT- but most of them loved it. When we got to McLellan, we still lacked space for PE, so we took each class to the Boys and Girls club on Talbot Avenue for PE twice a week. We picked up the 22 or the 28, and put all 20 kids on the bus, played tennis or another game at the B&G club and took the bus back. Our fellows usually ran those 'PE' classes, but we also had a brief contract with Tennacity and they provided a coach once a week." - Ms. Moore, current Dean of Coaching & Intervention

What do you miss about the early days of Bridge?

"Concerts! Thank goodness concerts are back at Bridge, but they're nothing like they used to be. The whole school would perform, and outside of the violin performances, each grade was in charge of preparing their own song. Then, when the concert was done, it was potluck time! All teachers and families signed up to contribute something (you had to call each family and make sure they were bringing something, they loved that I'm sure). We would all sit and eat together, sharing each family's specialty dish, then the kids would run around the Epiphany cafeteria and gym, watched by all parents and teachers as a community. It was exhausting, but it brought an amazing amount of joy and community!" - Sophie Schacht, current Special Education Lead Teacher

Bridge Boston educators -- especially those from the early days -- make us who we are. Every day, our staff exhibit our Jaguar values of Joy, Achievement, Generosity, Unity, Acceptance, and Resilience. From scrappy beginnings to 15 years of incredible success, we're so grateful for their hard work.